Six more die of hunger in Gaza, Israel says UN trucks make fuel delivery
More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive.
Palestinian local health authorities said at least 40 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included people trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas in Gaza, Palestinian medics said.
Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at their headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building.
The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials.
According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that, he says in the video, is for his own grave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based organisation's local delegation.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
Protesters demand end to Gaza war, release of hostages Israeli public largely opposes military escalation in Gaza Netanyahu faces criticism from allies over new Gaza plan By Alexander Cornwell A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. 'This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most,' Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. 'They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country,' said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who traveled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. 'Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success,' said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. 'I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference.' Around 1,200, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said on Saturday that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was 'terrible,' warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting that the war should end with the military withdrawing. 'We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours.'
Eyewitness News
17 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli govt move to expand Gaza war
TEL AVIV - Thousands took to the streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for an end to the war in Gaza, a day after the Israeli government vowed to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City. Demonstrators waved signs and held up pictures of hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory as they called on the government to secure their release. AFP journalists at the rally estimated the number of attendees to be in the tens of thousands, while a group representing the families of hostages said as many as 100,000 people participated. Authorities did not provide an official estimate for the size of the crowd, though it dwarfed other recent anti-war rallies. "We will end with a direct message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: if you invade parts of Gaza and the hostages are murdered, we will pursue you in the town squares, in election campaigns and at every time and place," Shahar Mor Zahiro, the relative of a slain hostage, told AFP. On Friday, Netanyahu's security cabinet greenlighted plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of domestic and international criticism. Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated ceasefire to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Strip. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision. In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said "we are not going to occupy Gaza - we are going to free Gaza from Hamas". The premier has faced regular protests over the course of 22 months of war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a deal after past truces saw hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. 'A NEW CRIME' The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday lambasted Israel's plan to expand its operations in Gaza. According to a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, PA president Mahmud Abbas said the plan "constitutes a new crime", and stressed "the urgent need to take action to stop it immediately". He also emphasised "the importance of enabling the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip". In the same meeting that approved the Gaza City plan, the security cabinet adopted a set of principles for ending the war in Gaza that included establishing a new "administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority". The PA, conceived as a first step towards a Palestinian state, exercises limited administration over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but does not have a presence in Hamas-run Gaza. A statement issued Saturday by the foreign ministers of Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom again criticised the decision to occupy Gaza City. "This will exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of a mass exodus of civilians," they said. Russia also condemned the Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City in a statement Saturday. Implementing such plans "risks worsening the already dramatic situation in the Palestinian enclave, which shows all the signs of a humanitarian disaster", said a foreign ministry statement. Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 37 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory on Saturday, including 30 civilians who were waiting to collect aid. Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel - which triggered the war - resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Palestinian Authority slams Israel's escalation in Gaza
RAMALLAH - The Palestinian Authority on Saturday lambasted the Israeli government's decision to expand its military operations in Gaza, calling on the international community to push for the entry of more aid into the Strip. According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the Israeli government's moves were "an unprecedented challenge and provocation to the international will to achieve peace and stability". He went on to urge the "international community, led by the UN Security Council, to urgently compel the occupying state to cease its aggression, allow the entry of aid, and work diligently to enable the State of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip". The PA - conceived as a first step towards a Palestinian state - exercises limited administration over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The territory is home to about three million Palestinians, as well as around half a million Israelis living in settlements considered illegal under international law. The PA, however, does not have a presence in Gaza, which has been governed by Hamas for nearly two decades. Early Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved plans for a major operation to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of criticism across the globe. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained defiant over the decision. In a post on social media late Friday, Netanyahu said "we are not going to occupy Gaza - we are going to free Gaza from Hamas". The prime minister faces mounting pressure to secure a ceasefire to bring Gaza's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants. A statement issued on Saturday by the foreign ministers of Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom took aim at the decision to occupy Gaza City. "This will exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of hostages, and increase the risk of a mass exodus of civilians," they said. Israel's offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry, figures the UN says are reliable. Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel - which triggered the war - resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
